Niklas Kronwall was at a bachelor party just outside Stockholm and he was informed and he was sober and he was still in disbelief.

The day was Friday July 5 and even after having received insider information thanks to phone calls with Henrik Zetterberg who had been in contact with a rogue Swede Kronwall was incredulous.

Daniel Alfredsson was going to be a teammate. There it was in texts and on Twitter. And Kronwall’s night just got better.

“I wasn’t drunk at that point” Kronwall said laughing. “Knowing what day it was I had my phone with me and I kept checking the updates. I had talked to Hank and he’d said that he’d talked to Alfie. But I never thought twice about it because what are the odds?”

The odds seemed long because Alfredsson had spent his entire 17-season NHL career with Ottawa. They were shortened because Alfredsson at age 40 decided he wanted a better shot at winning a first Stanley Cup and so he looked around and judged the best contender.

The pin landed on Detroit.

“I looked at a few things” Alfredsson said. “There were a few teams that were interested and I had some discussions with the family. We had been in one place so long and loved the team loved the city.

“It was about a new challenge both on and off the ice.”

Alfredsson talked to Zetterberg and to coach Mike Babcock and to general manager Ken Holland. One by one they sold him on the program. He ended up signing for one year and $3.5 million with $2 million in bonuses.